Avoiding Minefields in Mapping Application Development

December 15, 2011 Annie Schwab, Vice President, Marketing No comments

While the benefits of maps are widely known, developing robust, user-friendly mapping applications is still a challenge. Based on over a decade of experience building spatial solutions, our team at Digital Map Products has identified five of the most common minefields that stymie geo-development projects and cause mapping application “mission impossible”.

By employing the strategies listed below, developers can avoid minefields and bring an intuitive application to market in less time and with far greater ease.

  • Have a Plan to go Beyond Points on a Map: Today’s users expect more than just points on a map so your plan should include integrating and linking multiple data sets, building interactive features, and incorporating advanced data visualization tools.  Plus mapping applications can be notoriously difficult to extend, so invest in a flexible back-end and think carefully about desired future capability.
  • Be Realistic About Time Estimates – Getting the Data’s the Easy Part: Many developers think once they’ve sourced data for their new mapping application the hard work is done. In reality, the work has just begun. Allocate significant time to processing, linking, displaying, and updating your data.
  • Form an Obsession with Performance: In the online world, your application can never be fast enough, so it’s paramount that you exploit every trick in the book to optimize your data and features for rapid display on the map. Users waiting for a map to load is as antiquated a thought as dial-up connections.
  • Hide the Spatial Technology and your Users will Thank You: Because most of your users won’t know GIS from XYZ you need to ‘hide’ the spatial technology so it is intuitive for users and available when they need it, but not overwhelming. Styling your data and linking related data sets can go a long way towards enhancing usability.
  • You Don’t Need to do it all Yourself: With the explosion of mapping and geodata web services, you don’t have to recreate the wheel when developing your spatial application.  Leveraging the cloud translates to substantial time and cost savings on development, infrastructure, and maintenance, as well as minimal capital outlays and best-in-class reliability. Plus, it means you don’t need to become a GIS expert to leverage location technologies.

We have always believed that spatial technology should be easy to use and implement.  Armed with an awareness of common mapping application development minefields and the strategies needed to avoid them, you can be successful in leveraging all the exciting new mapping technologies.

 
Visit the links below for more information about developing a successful mapping application:

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Mapping Faux Pas #6 – Treating Your Map as a Store Locator!

December 7, 2011 Skip Cody, Product Manager No comments

Adding a map to your real estate site is now easier than ever, so easy in fact that it is rare to come across a site without one. But a common Faux Pas that many fall into is adding a location, showing the street view, and calling it a day. Here at Digital Map Products we love maps (as you can probably tell) and are always elated to see a map on any site but when a website stops at the property location and treats their map as a store locator we are always a little crestfallen.

A map is a perfect medium to tell the local story of a location. There is so much information around a location that can be presented on the map that it is a shame to ignore it. And it’s not just the map savvy that want more, the lion share of your users now expect a rich mapping experience and limiting them to the store locator style map is the fastest way to lose a user that was so difficult to capture in the first place. Take a look at your competitors, if they are presenting a simple point on the map then here’s your chance to one-up them. If they have gone beyond that simple point then they are the one-upper and you need to do something to catch up. Keep in mind that your competitors are just a click away, so dive in head first and take your map to the next level.

There is a whole host of cloud-based companies out there, including Digital Map Products, to help you create a map that stands out and gives your consumers what they are looking.

Here are some tips to help you get started:

  • Add data that helps tell your spatial story, examples of this data include points of interest, parks, public transportation, schools, and churches
  • Add demographic data to help create a mental picture of the people that live in and around the property of interest
  • Display boundaries that make sense to your end user such as neighborhood and city boundaries. Don’t add information that you don’t know yourself, for example, do you know where your postal code ends? If you don’t know neither will your users.
  • If you are adding thematic maps to display trends in the areas, make sure to display the data in the familiar boundaries your users know.
  • Add local reviews to your site to give your end user an idea of what people are saying about the local establishments.
  • Only add data to the map that helps the user. Adding data and features just to add them can detract from your application and cause confusion for the end user.

With so many options in the market it can be difficult to attract users to your site but once you do you want to keep them coming back. Don’t fall into the Store Locator Faux Pas; go beyond the simple point on the map. Elevate your map by adding data and functionality that WOWs your end user and keeps them engaged with your application. Your end users will thank you!

If you like this post have a look at the entire series.
Mapping Faux Pas #5: Bad Data Visualization
Mapping Faux Pas #4: Loading Map Syndrome
Mapping Faux Pas #3: Dumb Maps
Mapping Faux Pas #2: Street Level Geocoding
Mapping Faux Pas #1: Where’s the Map?

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The New Land Strategy Equation

December 2, 2011 Annie Schwab, Vice President, Marketing No comments

As the real estate market recovers and the inventory of desirable available lots evaporates, there’s renewed interest in land acquisition from builders, developers and brokers. In the post-crash real estate environment, the need for quality land remains paramount, but the strategies and methods for attaining land have changed. Today’s land acquisition process is considerably more complex as a result of more stringent municipal development requirements, evolving consumer demands focused on lifestyle and constrained financial and staff resources from the builders themselves.

Making the right land choices is more critical than ever while simultaneously more difficult than ever. Amidst all these challenges are new technologies and opportunities that are key to not only keeping up but getting ahead in land. This all begs the question-given the new “normal” what does it take to succeed in land acquisition today?

How and Why Land Acquisition has Changed
There are three main drivers that have morphed land acquisition in recent years: municipal development requirements, consumer demand and builder constraints.

Many municipalities were burned by haphazard development of the recent past and they have a strong desire for sustainable communities exhibiting new urbanism and new suburbanism traits. Similarly, there have been changes in consumer preferences including the shift to lifestyle-based purchase decisions, rising price sensitivity, and increasing interest in public transit proximity. Further, builders and developers have impacted the land acquisition success equation with margin pressure, stringent profit requirements, and resource constraints.

Market Analysis is more Important than Ever
With an increasingly complex land acquisition process and more numerous requirements from consumers and municipalities, market intelligence and land analytics are now required for land acquisition success. Some of the key market metrics to track and know are: median price, absorption rate, and price/sqft. You also need to consider alternative markets in your analysis such as resales and foreclosures and it’s always best to take all analysis to a sub-market level to identify, understand and exploit unique hyperlocal market factors.

Good Technology and Data Lay the Foundation for Success
Both technology and data are key pieces to the new land acquisition equation. For one, data enhances land decisions and there’s a plethora of proprietary, third-party, and publicly available data to use in your market and land analyses. Taking it one step further, in this era of doing more with less, and seemingly overwhelming amounts of data and decision variables, technology is a critical enabler to rapid, sound land strategies. Mapping systems are rapidly becoming requisite tools for builders and developers as they provide an intuitive means to combine many disparate data sets and quickly identify trends and patterns in data.

With all the upheaval in land acquisition, the new formula for success clearly hinges on possessing quality data, robust mapping technology, and resources capable of performing local level market analysis.

To learn more about land acquisition best practices and the latest in real estate mapping technology visit the links below:

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Mapping Faux Pas #5: Bad Data Visualization

November 21, 2011 Annie Schwab, Vice President, Marketing No comments

This week brings us to #5 in our Real Estate Mapping Faux Pas series: Bad Data Visualization. This is one of my favorites and a mistake I see so many people committing without even knowing it. As a disclaimer, I will admit I’m a bit of a data visualization zealot so bear with me, but I can’t emphasize enough how far good data display goes towards enhancing the usability and comprehension of information, particularly with complex data sets. That being said, let’s talk mapping data visualization, why it’s important, and some of the ways people get it so wrong.

First and foremost, maps are an extremely intuitive way for people to access and analyze data, particularly large data sets and/or multiple data sets simultaneously. As humans, our brains are hard-wired to understand maps, and location is a universally understood characteristic. So if maps are theoretically so great for working with information, why do they have such a bad rap for being hard to use? In short, Bad Data Visualization Techniques! Poor data display tactics can render even the best conceived mapping application useless; it’s time we stop blaming the map for its usability shortcomings, and start blaming the people making the maps.

Avoid Information Overload Avoid Pie Charts on Maps
Information Overload on Map Avoid Pie Charts on Maps

Now that we’ve isolated the root cause for many of the confusing maps out there, what are some of the most common mistakes? The first, seen above and to the left, is putting too much data and too little legend information in one map view. This leads to information overload and makes it virtually impossible for your users to make sense of any of the data sets displayed on the map. The well-known real estate website pictured is attempting to show population density with 11 classes of data, school locations, featured properties, and properties for rent. Not only is there way too much data, but it’s not clear what each symbol / color represents. And 11 classes of data? That’s way too many for the average consumer website.

While the map on the left is clearly difficult to understand, and ugly, the map on the right may initially seem appealing, however it is nearly as bad as the map on the left. First, in the data visualization world, pie charts are a big no-no, so putting pie charts on maps, is a bigger no-no. The pie charts obscure one another and it’s virtually impossible to distinguish what the colors and size of the pie chart represent, not to mention what the actual values being measured are. This is a perfect example of just because something looks cool, doesn’t mean it’s the optimal means to display data. In fact, often the best map visualizations, and the most difficult ones to create, are the simple ones.

To keep you from creating “mapping don’ts” due to bad data visualization, I’ve summarized some helpful tips to keep in mind as you’re organizing, styling, and displaying data:

  • We’ve mentioned this before, but it applies here as well – before you throw data up on a map start with the end in mind. Think about who will be using this data, and what conclusions you want to help them draw from it.
  • Before everything else, make sure your data is clean and you understand its nuances – does your data set have outliers? How is it distributed? Where does your data have holes? Exploring and getting to know your data will help you select your display scheme.
  • When classifying your data, or summarizing it, use a limited number of classes and intuitive color schemes.
  • Resist the urge to show all your data on the map at once – in lieu of 30,000 points on a map, summarize your data to easily understood geographies to make it less overwhelming for users. When you select your geographies, select ones that mean something to your users.
  • Give users creative options to explore your map data such as animations, drill downs, etc.

The most important takeaway is that even if you have the slickest, fastest, easiest to use mapping application, and have avoided all our other Faux Pas up to this point, you must invest the time and thought into proper data display to prevent your site from becoming a major Mapping Don’t! Now that you understand some of the most important tips for good map display, you too can banish ugly maps and put good data visualization principles to work for you to enhance your user experience and make your real estate site stand out from the pack. And be sure to check back next week for a discussion with Skip on how to take your map beyond just the property location.

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Mapping Faux Pas #4: Loading Map Syndrome

November 18, 2011 Skip Cody, Product Manager No comments

How patient are you when browsing the web? How long will you wait for a website to load before you abort your mission? The average consumer won’t wait long so it’s critical to make sure your website and mapping app load quickly and accurately so you don’t lose the consumer’s interst. This brings us to our Mapping Faux Pas #4: Loading Map Syndrome.

Consumers of today are demanding and are accustomed to instant gratification. And, due to developments in mobile, they are getting more comfortable with stripped down versions of websites that offer just the necessities of what they are looking for. This new tech savvy breed wants easy to use software and they want to be able to self-navigate. They expect the data on your site to be current and free of bugs. Above all else the new consumer does not want to wait for your site to load! Demanding little buggers, aren’t they?

So how do we keep them happy while integrating web-based mapping into our site? Well, first off we need to recognize that mapping over the web is an entirely different beast than mapping on the desktop computer. The desktop computer has a great deal of computing power and resources but a web browser is very limited on these features. Porting desktop mapping techniques to the web does not translate very well and in most cases the first item to suffer is performance.

When developing a web-based mapping application, put performance first and obsess over it. Use all the tricks in the book to shave off every millisecond possible. Use server side rendering, pre rendered tiling, proper spatial indexing and standard web application techniques to get the best performance possible. It’s a given that resources may be limited and compromise can occur, that’s OK as long as you revisit each compromise and tackle those slow points every chance you get. I can’t reiterate enough how important it is to obsess over the performance of your mapping application. Don’t expect consumers to wait for your map to load, because they won’t.

With these tips in mind you should be well on your way to creating a great mapping application for the web that will keep your consumer engaged, happy and coming back! Happy mapping!

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